The Marchfield (), later called the Mayfield (''Campus Madius''), was an annual assembly of the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

between the 6th and 8th centuries and of the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

in the 8th century. There is no reference to an annual "field of March" (''campus Martius'') from the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

period (481–751). The earliest reference is from the early

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

period (751–888).

Bernard S. Bachrach Bernard Stanley Bachrach (May 14, 1939 – July 14, 2023) was an American historian. He taught history at the University of Minnesota from 1967 until his retirement in 2020. He specialized in the Early Middle Ages, mainly on the topics of medieva ...

(1974), "Was the Marchfield Part of the Frankish Constitution?", ''Mediaeval Studies'' 36: 178–185. The evidence for the Marchfield in the Merovingian period is indirect. For example, King

Childebert II Childebert II ( – 596) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia (which included Provence at the time) from 575 until his death in March 596, and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his death, as the adopted son of his uncle Guntram. Childh ...

(575–596) promulgated edicts at three assemblies on March 1 in the last decade of his reign.

Guy Halsall Guy Halsall (born 1964) is an English historian and academic, specialising in Early Medieval Europe. He is currently based at the University of York, and has published a number of books, essays, and articles on the subject of early medieval his ...

(2020), "The Western European Kingdoms, 600–1000", in

Anne Curry Anne Elizabeth Curry (who publishes as Anne Curry and A. E. Curry; born 27 May 1954) is an English historian and Officer of Arms. Career Curry is Emeritus Professor of Medieval history at the University of Southampton and was dean of the F ...

and David A. Graff (eds.), ''The Cambridge History of War'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), pp. 50–82, at 61 and 64. The assembly may not have happened every year nor necessarily opened March 1, but there was an expectation that a major assembly would be held around that time.

Timothy Reuter Timothy Alan Reuter (25 January 1947 – 14 October 2002), grandson of the former mayor of Berlin Ernst Reuter, was a German-British historian who specialized in the study of medieval Germany, particularly the social, military and ecclesiastical ...

(2018), "Assembly Politics in Western Europe From the Eighth Century to the Twelfth", in

Peter Linehan Peter Anthony Linehan, FBA (11 July 1943 – 9 July 2020) was a British historian of medieval Spain. He was a fellow of St John's College, Cambridge, where he was Dean of Discipline, and a fellow of the British Academy. Life Linehan was born in ...

, Janet L. Nelson and Marios Costambeys (eds.), ''The Medieval World'', 2nd ed. (New York: Routledge), pp. 511–529, at 514. The Marchfield was a military and political assembly and men came armed. Christian Pfister (1913), "Gaul under the Merovingian Franks: Institutions", in H. M. Gwatkin and J. P. Whitney (eds.), ''

The Cambridge Medieval History ''The Cambridge Medieval History'' is a history of medieval Europe in eight volumes published by Cambridge University Press and Macmillan between 1911 and 1936. Publication was delayed by the First World War and changes in the editorial team. O ...

, Volume II: The Rise of the Saracens and the Foundation of the Western Empire'' (New York: Macmillan), pp. 133–158, at 135. It was in effect a mustering of the army, and may have had its origins in the Franks' service as ''

foederati ''Foederati'' ( ; singular: ''foederatus'' ) were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as ''foedus'', with Rome. During the Roman Republic, the term identified the '' socii'', but during the Roman Empire, it was used to describe foreign ...

'' in the

Roman army The Roman army () served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of the W ...

.Guy Halsall (2003), ''Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West, 450–900'' (New York: Routledge), pp. 43, 82, 128, 135 and 145. It could decide on war, in which case a campaign would begin immediately. There is no evidence in Merovingian sources, however, that campaigns were more likely to begin in March or early spring than any other time of the year. The Marchfield was also a place for royal patronage, the meting out of rewards and punishments and maintaining a direct link between the king and the soldiery. The assembly could also act as a tribunal, trying persons accused of high treason. It was also an occasion for kings to issue

capitularies A capitulary (medieval Latin ) was a series of legislative or administrative acts emanating from the Frankish court of the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties, especially that of Charlemagne, the first emperor of the Romans in the west since th ...

. The Marchfield appears to have been instituted in Lombard Italy in the 8th century. This was an assembly for enacting laws. All of the dated laws of kings Liutprand,

Ratchis RatchisAlso spelled ''Rachis'', ''Raditschs'', ''Radics'', ''Radiks''. (died after 757) was the Duke of Friuli (739–744) and then King of the Lombards (744–749). Ratchis was the son of Duke Pemmo of Friuli and the nephew of the Lombard kin ...

and

Aistulf Aistulf (also Ahistulf, Haistulfus, Astolf etc.; , ; died December 756) was the Duke of Friuli from 744, King of the Lombards from 749, and Duke of Spoleto from 751. His reign was characterized by ruthless and ambitious efforts to conquer Roman ...

are dated March 1.

References

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Further reading